The Supreme Court of India started functioning on January 28, 1950 from the Chamber of Princes in the Parliament House, the seat of the erstwhile Federal Court. Inaugurated just two days after India’s Constitution was adopted and the nation became a sovereign, democratic republic, the Supreme Court shifted to its present building at Tilak Marg in 1958.

Besides being the highest Constitutional court which can be moved directly under Article 32 against the violation of fundamental rights, the Supreme Court is also the highest appellate court of the country. As it stands today, it is not just deciding and interpreting the Indian Constitution, inter-state disputes or important questions of law; it is also the final forum for many statutory appeals, deciding individual disputes on facts.

The judges of the Supreme Court of India have played a significant role in shaping Indian democracy, the Indian Constitution itself and the umpteen laws, which govern the country. Commencing with eight judges, the strength of the Court was steadily raised and currently stands at 31.

Though the sanctioned strength is 31, currently there are only 27 judges with four chairs lying vacant.

#KnowyourJudges is a compilation series starting from the Supreme Court, where we bring out the data about the tenures, parent High Courts and the pass thru High Courts of the 27 sitting judges of Supreme Court.

Also, in 2018, 7 Supreme Court Judges retire including the then Chief Justice Dipak Misra. This means, the Government and the Supreme Court will have to factor their replacement in the Supreme Court and also ensure the current vacancies in the High Court are also filled up.

Download the report below